Let's Move Blog

Something exciting is happening today on the South Lawn of the White House. In partnership with National Geographic Kids Magazine, First Lady Michelle Obama will launch a challenge to help break the Guinness World Records® title for the most people doing jumping jacks in a 24-hour period.

Watch First Lady Michelle Obama welcome the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team.
Members of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team and First Lady Michelle Obama took to the South Lawn yesterday afternoon for a Let's Move! soccer clinic with young players from Soccer Sisters United in Philadelphia and Prince William Courage Soccer Club in Woodbridge, Virginia. Women's National Soccer Team players Nicole Barnhart, Rachel Buehler, Lori Lindsey, Alex Morgan, Kelley O’Hara and Becky Sauerbrunn taught the kids soccer skills while highlighting the importance of physical activity, which is what Let's Move! is all about.

Ed. Note: Cross-posted from the White House blog.
First Lady Michelle Obama and White House Chefs join children from Bancroft and Tubman Elementary Schools to harvest vegetables during the third annual White House kitchen garden fall harvest Oct. 5, 2011. Mrs. Obama planted the White House kitchen garden to help connect kids with the food they eat – an essential component of her Let’s Move! initiative. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
Today, First Lady Michelle Obama was joined by a big group of helpers for the third annual White House kitchen garden fall harvest. Students from Bancroft and Tubman Elementary Schools got their hands dirty picking produce from the garden and then had a chance to try some of the vegetables that they picked on grilled garden pizza.

On October 3, Katie O'Malley, the First Lady of Maryland welcomed 20 chefs to the Governors Mansion in Annapolis. They ranged in age from 4 to 14 and were happy to take on the task of preparing Maryland grown produce into a special treat for the crowd who had gathered to celebrate ChopChop Maryland.

Posted by Dominique Dawes, Co-Chair, President’s Council on Fitness Sports & Nutrition on October 4, 2011

My fellow President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN) members and I recently visited Miner Elementary School in Washington, D.C. led by Principal LaVonne Taliaferro-Bunch. The goal? To not only witness a model physical education (PE) program in action, but to experience it – in other words, walk the talk.

Posted by Capt Meredith Reynolds, Ph.D., USPHS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on October 4, 2011

Since First Lady Michelle Obama’s announcement of Let’s Move! Child Care (LMCC) on June 8, 2011, nearly 1,300 participants have registered online and joined the fight against childhood obesity. Among the participants are child care providers who have committed to achieving best practice recommendations for the five LMCC goals—physical activity, screen time, food, beverage, and infant feeding—and trainers dedicated to providing technical assistance to child care providers participating in LMCC.

Posted by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services on September 28, 2011

We did it! At Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play, I had the pleasure of announcing the success of the Million Presidential Active LifestyleAward(PALA) Challenge and celebrating with the members of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition and thousands of kids and families in front of the White House.

On September 19, for first time in history, world leaders met at the United Nations in a High Level Meeting called to begin addressing diabetes, heart disease and cancer on Global scale. One after another the Presidents, Prime Ministers, Health Ministers and other dignitaries stood in front of the UN symbol of peace pledged their resolve to address the root cause of many of these diseases -- overweight and obesity.

Over the weekend, First Lady Michelle Obama joined children and families at Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play to celebrate the success of the Million PALA Challenge, a joint initiative of Let’s Move! and the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (PCFSN).

In Lounge 201 on Capitol Hill, 19 Job Corps food service managers from Job Corps centers nationwide exercised their culinary creativity in a “Top Chef” food competition in support of Let’s Move! This event known as “Job Corps’ Top Chefs: Creating Healthy and Nutritious Food Services,” was the culmination of a three day summit, September 13- 15, 2011, held in Washington DC. It was hosted by the National Job Corps Association (NJCA) is held annually, with this year being the second conference.

Posted by Heidi Christensen, Associate Director for Community Engagement at the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on September 26, 2011

Ed. Note: Cross-posted from the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships blog.
Across the country, parish nurses are helping congregations walk in health towards a more active lifestyle. Parish nurses, or Faith Community Nurses, are health experts who work within specific congregations to provide the tools, resources, and support necessary to make healthy decisions and stay active. In their capacity as health counselors, advocates, educators, and providers of spiritual care, they are on the frontlines of congregational health, working with church members to address healing of the body, mind and spirit.

Ed. Note: Cross-posted from the USDA blog.
In August I went back to school with students in Albany and Newton, Ga., to see how healthy school meals help students get their “S.W.A.G. on” and prepare for success.
In Albany, 400 Sherwood Acres Elementary Magnet School students celebrated school breakfast, many wearing S.W.A.G. t-shirts, which stands for “Students with Academic Greatness!”
Vanessa Hayes, Dougherty County Schools Director of Child Nutrition Services, explained, “We understand that good nutrition is the fuel for the educational vehicle.”